Did you know that Michigan has nearly 3,000 local units of government?  That’s a lot of naming rights that have been granted.   While many were rightfully named by Native Americans, more recently many were given European small town names or family names of early settlers.  With all of these local cities, townships and villages, you’re bound to find a few with head scratching names to fit the area’s personality.

Places like Hell and Bad Axe seem like places named by a few guys spending a bit too much time at the local pub.  We’ll, we can’t be sure they weren’t bellying up, but the history can be fascinating.

Here’s a quick look at a few of the Michigan towns that have unique names and why the names stuck.

• • Hell, which is 30 minutes northeast of Ann Arbor, was officially named in 1841. There are several stories on the origin, including when the original landowner was asked what they should name the area, he opined with “….you can name it Hell for all I care.”  Others think it might have been based on the area’s swampy and mosquito-infested conditions.  But the most likely story is that when the landowner’s wife was asked the whereabouts of her husband, she’d often mention that he’s “gone to Hell”, meaning, out to the farm fields.
  • Bad Axe, which is in the middle of Michigan’s thumb region, was officially established in 1905. The Bad Axe Library describes that “in 1865, Captain Rudolph Papst, a military surveyor, named a camp site at the meeting of two major trails, supposedly after an old rusted axe was left there by hunters.” “Bad Axe Camp” turned into “Bad Axe Corners”, and then ultimately the village of “Bad Axe” on March 19^th, 1885.
  • Cement City is located 15 minutes from Jackson. Once named Kelly’s Corner after the landowner of the time, the town was renamed Woodstock.  In 1901, investor William Cowhan built a cement company and renamed the town to what it is today.  While the cement factories have long since closed, many of the structurers are still standing and many kids jump the fence to play in the spooky skeletons of the old plants.
  • Mesick…. Are you? Mesick is 40 minutes south of Traverse City.  Driving through, you can’t help but notice all of the morel mushroom logos on local business’ signs.  Mesick is the Mushroom Capital of Michigan and hosts a mushroom-fest every Mother’s Day weekend.  But the name doesn’t correlate with bad ‘shrooms, it was supposedly named for its first settler.  Maybe a name change is in order – to Morelville?

You’ve gotta love the reasons some of our communities are named the way they are.  What unusually-named Michigan town is your favorite?

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